Quote :

"they wanted her to do more country, she said no."

which kind of country? Pop bullshit country or the JTE actual country?

[Edited on October 23, 2015 at 12:39 PM. Reason : dp]

10/23/2015 12:38:55 PM

Quote :

"I mean that she is a clearly a part of the pop-music machine, and they are gonna produce music based on what sells more than what she considers "art"."

This has nothing to do with whether or not she writes her own songs. It does have something to do with the fact that she works with Max Martin, but that's not what you said.

The idea that modern pop music is any different than any other era of pop music really annoys me (this is in general, not aimed at you). No one signed the Beatles until they thought they could move units, and they only earned artistic latitude when they showed it could sell.

10/23/2015 12:43:08 PM

I am not saying that she is not talented. But touting her as a "true songwriter" is a bit far fetched. Just look at bands like the Kings of Leon, the Avett brothers, or hell even Johnny Cash since you went there, once bands become sellable on the major market then the industry takes over and things become more engineered and over produced to sell the music on a massive scale. This is a phenomenon that is clearly visible in their arc as musicians. This was the downfall of many great 80's pop artists that they have since lamented about.

I am sure that a ton of decision making and advising goes into the development of her sound that is not done by her, and yet people sell her as some sort of small town girl singing her heart out on a stage at a farmers market.

And she is nowhere near to the raw talent of The Beatles, how could you even bring that up?

[Edited on October 23, 2015 at 12:58 PM. Reason : h]

10/23/2015 12:57:30 PM

See who her father IS.

Quote :

"Her father, Scott Kingsley Swift, is a Merrill Lynch vice president;[9] he was raised in Pennsylvania, and is the descendant of three generations of bank presidents."

He is treated in Southeast Asia as a human rights fighter.

[Edited on October 23, 2015 at 1:03 PM. Reason : wiki]

10/23/2015 1:01:22 PM

Quote :

"yet people sell her as some sort of small town girl singing her heart out on a stage at a farmers market."

People haven't done that for years.

10/23/2015 1:55:51 PM

she's one of the most famous humans on the planet

10/23/2015 2:15:23 PM

^^In reference to her "song writing".

They do it all the time. Seriously, I am not trying to hate on her, but I just feel like she exists because some exec thought that they could sell her story and then they just built the music around her. Very similar to Katy Perry in that way.


[Edited on October 23, 2015 at 2:33 PM. Reason : j]

10/23/2015 2:30:46 PM

except not at all

10/23/2015 2:54:51 PM

Red Dragon

10/23/2015 2:56:10 PM

OMG TAYLOR SWIFT IS WRITING POP MUSIC OMG

she has more talent in her little toe (both song writing and singing) than banjo fucker has in his whole banjo body.

10/23/2015 3:28:48 PM

U can't compare her with someone like me. That's not fair. But, if you compare her to somebody like Stevie nicks or Dolly Parton, you should notice a big drop off.

I get it. She's super hot, but I still don't really get it.

10/23/2015 4:39:43 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A42LFnMcFao&feature=youtu.be

10/23/2015 10:34:25 PM

She had a SONGWRITING deal in NASHVILLE at the age of 15.

Every songwriting partner she's worked with talks about essentially acting as a curator of Taylor's ideas.

Yes, she's beautiful. But she's not a particularly good singer, and she can't dance for shit. If you're going to *ahem* tailor-make a pop star, she's not the best lump of clay to mold.

Now, I won't say that Taylor Swift is a better songwriter than Dolly Parton, because she's not. DOLLY PARTON IS ONE OF THE GREATEST SONGWRITERS WHO EVER LIVED, AND COMPARING TAYLOR SWIFT TO HER IS JUST AS UNFAIR AS COMPARING TAYLOR SWIFT TO YOU.

But Taylor Swift deals with this bullshit all the time that "she must not really be writing her songs" because she's a woman. It's fucking dumb. No one questions the authorship of Adam Levine, Bon Jovi, or Chris Daughtry when they team with someone, so why her?

I brought up the Beatles because, talented or not, no one gave a shit about them until they wrote a tune that someone thought they could sell. And the Kinks were way better songwriters than the Beatles, so what the fuck ever.

10/24/2015 1:39:34 AM

wow, a songwriting deal in 2004 nashville, the mecca of creative music lyrics

[Edited on October 24, 2015 at 1:57 AM. Reason : how many mainstream artists do you have to defend for somebody to revoke your hipster card]

10/24/2015 1:54:32 AM

do i have to explain how lyrics and songs aren't the same thing?

10/24/2015 2:00:04 AM

sorry, 2004 Nashville, the modern mecca of brilliant songwriting

10/24/2015 2:05:32 AM

Quote :

"But Taylor Swift deals with this bullshit all the time that "she must not really be writing her songs" because she's a woman. It's fucking dumb. No one questions the authorship of Adam Levine, Bon Jovi, or Chris Daughtry when they team with someone, so why her? "

Her being a woman is definitely not it. The bands that I referenced were full of dudes. The problem that I have is more of the decline in Pop Music over the last decade or so that was brought on swiftly by the rise of Gleeish music. Nowadays, every pop song sounds like the glee cover of the original song. Even Macklemore, who was a breath of fresh air at the beginning, has a strong taste of glee in the chorus of his latest hit Downtown. So, this all means that whatever musical content that she provides is immediately put into to the machine that mashes it with other stuff and shits out a glee track.

This is not the same for other contemporary, female songwriters such as Gilian Whelch or Jenn Wasner from Wye Oak who for the most part are in more control of the artistic content of the final product. It is just annoying that most people don't understand the difference in the quality of the music and the song writer. Gilian Welch is a thousand times more of an artist than Swift, but Taylor is the global phenomenon because of... reasons? I honestly don't know why this bullshit glee pop music has taken over our generation. At least we still have John Legend and thank god for it.

Anyways, it is not to imply that she does not work hard and is not an outstanding performer.

Quote :

"he has more talent in her little toe (both song writing and singing) than banjo fucker has in his whole banjo body."

Say what you want, but I am not a talentless hack in regards to songwriting.

https://soundcloud.com/myvitruvianman/sweet-departing-song

Here is a recent demo recording that I finished last week. You can listen to it if you want to, although you probably won't because you seem to have your mind made up about me, but although it's got some flaws I would definitely not say total shit.

10/24/2015 6:17:23 AM

^song was better than i thought it would be

10/24/2015 7:33:29 AM

^^ummm. John Legend is garbage

[Edited on October 24, 2015 at 1:45 PM. Reason : seriously. like one of THE most boring acts to make it big in the past 20 years]

10/24/2015 1:44:41 PM

He's a pretty good penist. Does Taylor play any instruments other than the skin flute?

10/24/2015 3:16:10 PM

She plays the piano and guitar that I know of, probably other stuff

10/24/2015 3:44:14 PM

wikipedia says piano, guitar, ukele and banjo

I'd like to see a duel with her and BanjoMan

10/24/2015 4:36:43 PM

Quote :

"No one questions the authorship of Adam Levine, Bon Jovi, or Chris Daughtry when they team with someone, so why her?"

they dont?

10/24/2015 4:51:28 PM

My daughter enjoys Shake It Off

10/24/2015 8:15:17 PM

I can't decide if the funniest part of this thread is BanjoWeirdo acting like this girl ain't [multi]talented as fuck, or our resident SHOW ME YOUR RIFFS try-hard feminist going full throttle THEY'RE HAIM AND THEY'RE EVERYTHING SPECIAL TO ME afterwards.


[Edited on October 24, 2015 at 8:37 PM. Reason : Honorable mention to the Soundcloud link though]

10/24/2015 8:35:29 PM

My favorite part was penist.

10/24/2015 9:52:56 PM

Quote :

"It is just annoying that most people don't understand the difference in the quality of the music and the song writer."

And it's equally annoying that you don't understand that factory-made pop music in 2015 is no different than factory-made pop music in 1965.

10/24/2015 10:52:02 PM

HAHAHAHA!! Lol. That was a timeless era in music that is relevant still to this day. Think about it, people can and will frequently hum tunes from the 65-70's and yet probably struggle to remember a current pop song from three or four years ago. We are just going through a slump right now, hopefully we get another classic era like the 90's that will make everything right again.

Quote :

"song was better than i thought it would be"

tru dat hommie.

10/25/2015 7:08:51 AM

all i know is the music i like is better than the music you like.

10/25/2015 8:11:20 AM

exactly.

sums everything up perfectly.

[Edited on October 25, 2015 at 8:46 AM. Reason : btw, I still got no beef with ya vinyl, you my boy bra!]

[Edited on October 25, 2015 at 8:46 AM. Reason : having said that, did you like the new demo?]

10/25/2015 8:45:34 AM

it's no Meet me in Hamburg

10/25/2015 8:49:18 AM

I want you for secret santa. Will you be able to ship something to Germany?

10/25/2015 8:52:14 AM

10/25/2015 9:41:07 AM

Quote :

"Think about it, people can and will frequently hum tunes from the 65-70's and yet probably struggle to remember a current pop song from three or four years ago."

what people?

you dont think people still love or at least remember tracks from Rihanna, Kanye, destinys child/beyonce, katy perry, taylor swift, etc etc

Songs from the past are still popular bc more generations have a chance to discover/like them. the older generation loves them from childhood and younger generations discover them in many different ways, including use in tv/movies. But the older generation is less likely to like pop that comes out after they reach adulthood just b/c you get settled in your ways.

ask a 20 year old if they prefer the beatles or beyonce.

now this is not saying one era is better or worse than another, just that you are nuts if you think people wont remember modern pop.


also there was tons of bad but popular music in those eras as well, but we dont remember them for obvious reasons

[Edited on October 25, 2015 at 1:35 PM. Reason : a]

10/25/2015 1:33:49 PM

I am putting the thread back on topic.



Stunning in a black dress.

10/25/2015 3:33:17 PM

Quote :

"We are just going through a slump right now, hopefully we get another classic era like the 90's"

Yes, the classic era of Paula Abdul, Extreme, and Vanilla Ice.

Why can't you see that ALL ERAS ARE THE SAME?!?! There's a bunch of really good, timeless stuff, and also a bunch of crap.

You know the bad of today because you hear it all the time. You don't know the awful dreck from the '60s because no one's bothered to bring it up in 50 years.

10/26/2015 1:27:29 AM

http://giphy.com/gifs/recursion-Nn52kz0HXb1Ly

10/26/2015 1:41:35 AM

She is Lady Gaga+Kate Perry+Natalie Portman

10/26/2015 9:57:27 AM

^^^

100%.

And, if we're not talking strictly radio pop music but instead music as a whole, 2015 has been one of my favorite years for new music in a very long time.

10/26/2015 10:24:53 AM

All eras are similar, in that different generations have their favorite era

But back in the day, people with terrible singing voices didn't get autotuned and prepackaged into hit songs. That shit is not the same.

and fuck this god damn autoplay shit every time i click reply

[Edited on October 26, 2015 at 2:16 PM. Reason : .]

10/26/2015 2:15:04 PM

Quote :

"if we're not talking strictly radio pop music but instead music as a whole, 2015 has been one of my favorite years for new music in a very long time."

The initial point was never that Music sucks now. I mean, my trio of favorite bands all put out some great stuff in the last five years or so. The point, or comment shall I say, that got everybody heated up was that she was being over valued on a purely talent basis. That doesn't imply that she sucks. Take Sylvan Esso for example, since everybody on this board appears to follow and adore them, any unbiased listener should be able to acknowledge that there is a huge gap in both singing and song writing abilities between Swift and Amelia from SE. However, Swift is the global phenomenon and you would have to be "in the know" to be aware of SE, so does her talent foot the bill for this disparity?

Almost certantly not. Albeit she is talented, and definitely more talented than the average person trying to make it, the reason for her stature has to do more with marketing and the capital of the management teams for Swift than SE. Amelia is clearly the more talented person. So, a part of the Swift success, IMO, is her having this innocent little singer-song writer from Nashville mystique. I mean, that is all that I ever hear about her TBH. That, and pouring huge amounts of capital into marketing played a huge role in making her a phenomenon and the person that she is, in the same way that Bieber and KP came to fame. So to me she is more of a product of the industry than other singer-song writers, in the same way that her music is.

But so what if I press skip, y'all can listen to whatever you want.

[Edited on October 26, 2015 at 2:55 PM. Reason : shit, DP]

10/26/2015 2:53:52 PM

Quote :

"any unbiased listener should be able to acknowledge that there is a huge gap in both singing and song writing abilities between Swift and Amelia from SE"

Amelia Meath is a tremendous singer, but I've never understood the fuss about SE. I'll take Taylor's songs any day.

Quote :

"you would have to be "in the know" to be aware of SE"

They were on the Tonight Show. Their record was in the Top 40.

Quote :

"a part of the Swift success, IMO, is her having this innocent little singer-song writer from Nashville mystique."

This was true ten years ago. Hell, it was true five years ago. Now, she's arguably the biggest pop star on Earth. She does stadium tours in garters and sequined bodysuits. Since Red, that facet of her fame is no longer relevant.

10/26/2015 5:46:13 PM

i can't really get into her. the few times i hear her, it's not something that i'm running to turn off and it's decently catchy, but I've never once heard one of her songs and actively wanted to listen to it again. Her voice is just a tad annoying to me as well.

10/26/2015 7:34:40 PM

Quote :

"However, Swift is the global phenomenon and you would have to be "in the know" to be aware of SE, so does her talent foot the bill for this disparity? "

she's a POP artist, jesus christ. vinyl is only really defending her songwriting talents, and if you submit that she had any hand at all in writing here songs, you have to admit she is a fantastic POP songwriter. Her songs are catchy as hell and adored by millions despite any drawbacks she might have a performer (although she clearly has charisma). She may not be writing complex and deep music, but she IS writing absurdly popular songs that people enjoy. She even makes it personal with her annoying tendency to seemingly write about every breakup she has (which admittedly can be endearing in artists i like more).

[Edited on October 26, 2015 at 10:32 PM. Reason : god i cant believe i'm defending taylor fucking swift]

10/26/2015 10:24:20 PM

she's no Britney Spears

10/26/2015 10:27:19 PM

You guys are still talking about this?



Anyway, what do you guys think about the rumor that Calvin Harris got caught leaving a happy ending massage place and she was pissed about it?

10/26/2015 10:57:59 PM

if true, kind of confirms her being an ice queen

if he had to pay for that

10/26/2015 11:40:26 PM

She doesn't have to be an ice queen for him to want an asian girl to jerk him off.

10/27/2015 2:40:47 AM

Kurtis brings a healthy perspective.

Taylor's alright. And this Calvin dude is alright. Everybody's alright.

10/27/2015 2:49:54 AM

I'm alright.

Don't nobody worry 'bout me.

10/27/2015 7:36:33 AM